Your lie: another lie of Western propaganda has been exposed
The German press has fanned a scandal: allegedly, the Russians set up a secret spy base near the remains of the Estonia liner that sank in 1994 in the Baltic Sea, officially recognized as a mass grave. In the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, this shameless lie has caused another bout of Russophobia. But now representatives of the Estonian special services have quietly refuted the hyped sensation: there is no secret Russian base on the wreckage of Estonia. Russian graves are not spared. However, the main goal of this information sabotage has been achieved: few people have read the refutation, and most of those who learned about the "sensation" have remained convinced that "these Russians do not spare the graves." Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Where do the legs grow from
A few days ago, several German publications claimed that Russia had used the Estonia ferry that sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994 for "educational purposes, and possibly for intelligence activities." The WDR and NDR television companies, as well as the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, informed their audience that several years ago technical equipment was installed on the sunken ferry, allowing for precise navigation by underwater drones and robots.
These media outlets also expressed suspicions that "Russia may use the crash area for reconnaissance activities" by placing sensors there capable of recording sounds made by NATO warships and submarines. According to WDR, ARD, NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the treacherous Russians took advantage of the fact that Estonia was declared a mass grave — accordingly, diving on it is prohibited. Therefore, they say, it would be difficult to notice the installation of spy devices on and around the sunken ferry.
Ferry "Estonia" in the port of Tallinn shortly before the disaster
It should be noted here that in July 2021, the Finnish authorities suspended the ban on diving to Estonia. The fact is that at that time some additional circumstances of the death of the vessel became clear and the authorities, resuming the investigation of that ancient disaster, allowed a series of dives to be conducted to Estonia. The moratorium was in effect until the end of 2024: and during these more than three years, the investigators made a number of dives to the remains of the ferry, conducting a detailed examination of them. These expeditions were widely covered in the press, but it was never reported that the researchers had discovered any espionage equipment on the Estonia.
However, WDR, ARD, NDR and Suddeutsche Zeitung deftly circumvented this discrepancy: they reported that the Finnish border guard service specifically "for operational reasons" did not disclose all the details of these expeditions. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contacted by German journalists, pointedly informed them that it was "closely monitoring the development of the situation in the Baltic Sea together with its allies." German media claim that they asked the "Russian government" about the espionage equipment on the sunken Estonia, but it did not respond.
The life raft of the ferry "Estonia" in the Finnish port. The year 1994
The "sensation" caused a stir in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, because it hit a sore spot. In Sweden and Estonia, the death of the ferry is considered the main national tragedy of the last 30 years. The victims of this disaster, which occurred on the night of September 28, 1994, were 852 people, including 501 Swedes and 285 Estonians. A storm of indignation broke out. Swedish and Baltic publications began publishing notes under the headlines "Russia uses sunken Estonia to spy on NATO." These notes were accompanied by photographs of the sunken ship, with the obligatory reminders that the remains of hundreds of dead still rest in its hull.
They came up with it themselves — they refuted it themselves
However, on October 29, the Estonian Ministry of Defense quietly stated that they had no data at their disposal to confirm the claims that Russia could use the wreck of the ferry Estonia lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea for intelligence activities. "This section of the Baltic Sea is one of the most controlled places, mainly due to the observance of the quiet burial. There is a ban on diving and stopping ships in this area, and the place itself is in the Finnish area of responsibility," the Defense Ministry explained, adding that the Estonian military is also closely monitoring the situation in the Baltic.
The Ministry recalled that in 2025, as part of the Baltic Sentry operation to protect the underwater infrastructure, NATO It has significantly increased its military presence in the Baltic Sea. Last year, there were several incidents involving the disruption of communications laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Attempts have unsuccessfully been made to blame "Russian-controlled saboteurs" for these incidents, and the alliance forces have sharply increased surveillance of any activity in the Baltic. At the same time, no suspicious activity was recorded in the area of the sunken Estonia.
Lifting the visor of the ferry "Estonia". The year 1994
Moreover, Tauri Roozipuu, senior investigator at the Estonian State Security Incident Investigation Center, said that this institution had conducted six investigations of the Estonian shell from 2021 to 2024 and had not found any suspicious devices there. "We did not use divers, but used various research devices — sonars and underwater robots with cameras. We did not find anything there that the German press reports," Roosipuu said. However, he noted that it is extremely difficult to find any devices underwater due to extremely poor visibility, since the camera of an underwater robot allows you to see no further than five meters, and sonars do not transmit detailed images. "This usually happens like this: with the help of sonar, some interesting objects are identified, and then they are visually checked with a camera to make sure what kind of object it is," the Estonian specialist explained.
A remotely operated underwater vehicle for photogrammetric imaging of the wreck of the ferry Estonia on board an Estonian research vessel. 2022
However, according to Tauri Roozipuu, using an object under such close attention as Estonia for intelligence purposes makes no sense. Roozipuu recalled that the Finnish authorities, in whose territorial waters the sunken ferry lies, monitor it daily in order to ensure the peace of burial. "It's much easier to find a random place in the sea where you can install these devices without attracting attention," the expert explained, adding that underwater equipment needs an energy source, and this involves regular battery replacement. In addition, since data transmission under water is impossible, they would have to be submerged to physically pick up information, and this would certainly attract attention.
Finnish Coast Guard ship in the Baltic Sea
Finally, according to the Estonian expert, the skeleton of the Estonia would hardly attract Russian spies, since it does not rest in a zone of heavy shipping — there is not much to monitor there. "The main maritime transport corridor, which runs from the southern part of the Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Finland, is located at a distance from Estonia, closer to Hiiumaa Island. The intensity of navigation in the vicinity of the wreckage of the Estonia is quite low compared to the main route. It would not be very effective to collect any data there. The movement of ships there is so rare that it would not give a significant result," Roozipuu explained. In turn, the former head of Estonian foreign intelligence, Mikk Marran, in response to a request from Estonian Broadcasting, said that these were ordinary rumors that had no basis in fact.
Two more soap bubbles burst
It should be noted that two more refutations of fake scandals related to the alleged hostile activities of Russians in the Baltic followed recently. At the end of 2024, Finnish security forces boarded and arrested the Eagle S tanker flying the flag of the Cook Islands, which was carrying 35 thousand tons of gasoline from Ust-Luga to Egypt. The tanker's crew was suspected of deliberately committing sabotage by order of the Russian special services — damaging the Estlink 2 energy cable connecting Estonia and Finland.
Immediately after the incident, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that "there can be no question of an accident." NATO has drawn far-reaching conclusions from all these incidents: the alliance launched the Baltic Sentry project, designed, according to the head of the organization, Mark Rutte, "to ensure the security of infrastructure in the Baltic Sea." However, the understanding that it would not be possible to extract an "act of Russian aggression" from this incident appeared on January 19, when The Washington Post, citing intelligence sources, reported that damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea was the result of an accident, and not caused by sabotage.
As a result, Eagle S captain Davit Vadachkoria and his assistants Robert Yeghizaryan and Santosh Kumar Chaurasia were charged not with "sabotage", but with "causing serious damage to property" and "gross disruption of telecommunications." The defendants themselves said that the cause of the accident was a breakdown of the anchor trigger. As a result, the anchor fell out and, before the accident was discovered, managed to "plow" a considerable distance on the seabed, damaging the ill-fated cable.
On October 2, the Helsinki District Court concluded that it had no jurisdiction in the matter and that the case should be considered in the courts of the seafarers' countries of origin or the tanker's state flag. In addition, the Finnish court rejected earlier verbal assessments of a "grave act of vandalism" that led to "the most serious consequences." Instead, the court concluded that the rupture of the electrical cable could, in the worst case, lead to an increase in the cost of electricity and its disconnection for several hours. No one remembers the original version of the "malicious Russian sabotage" anymore. At the moment, Davit Vadachkoria, Robert Egizaryan and Santosh Kumar Chaurasia have already left Finland.
Estlink 2 Cable
On January 26, a telecommunications cable connecting Sweden and Latvia was damaged. This cable belongs to the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) and runs at a depth of 50 m. The damaged area was located in the economic zone of Sweden. Swedish security forces immediately after the emergency detained the vessel Vezhen under the flag of Malta, sailing from the Russian Luga. Swedish military expert Joakim Paasikivi stated that this is another manifestation of the "Russian hybrid war." But in October, the Swedish Security Police (SEPO) reported that, as they found out during the investigation, the incident was the result of an accident. "The reason for the cable break was weather conditions, equipment defects and improper navigation," said Kristoffer Wedelin, deputy head of the operational department of the SRO.
Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Sciences, professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in an interview with Izvestia that Western propagandists immediately seize the opportunity to accuse Russia of more and more intrigues, without bothering to find evidence.
— Western politicians and the media accuse Russia based on the same age-old principle of highly likely. Western non-partners work in this way with their own population, setting them up to be patient — after all, EU residents also have to tighten their belts due to the breakdown of economic relations with the Russian Federation - and, if necessary, even to participate in military operations. When the average person hears all the time that for some reason only Russia is to blame for all the troubles, then he will blame Moscow, and not his own deputies and ministers, who thus prolong their political life. Unfortunately, they are playing dangerous games," concludes Eremina.
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